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“We’re almost there,” Astor says, shaking my shoulder like I had fallen asleep.
My eyes open, and the power that only seconds before had oppressed me is instantly gone.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I try to play off.
He studies me, his eyes bouncing between mine as though he’s certain I’m hiding something.
“Keep up, I don’t have eyes in the back of my head,” he says as dryly as a child can.
A few moments later, the light pouring into these tunnels becomes a permanent glow as we begin to hear the sounds of people moving and chattering somewhere above us. We slow a bit, moving up one last staircase and reaching a large metal door. To the right of that door is a small tunnel, so small that a grown man would struggle to fit inside. Astor jumps up and begins crawling,
and I do my best to follow him.
“What purpose do these serve?” I ask with a groan after banging my head against the wall several times.
“They’re drains,” he replies. “Flooding in the canals used to be a serious problem because there weren’t a lot of water outlets, so these were dug all over the city to divert heavy rain. Makes everything I do a lot easier since I’m small enough to fit.”
Now it makes sense to me how Astor was able to take care of himself and his mother for so long without being caught. These drains were all over the place as we journeyed through the canals. Someone as small as him would be able to get anywhere in the city without much trouble at all.
The people erupt into loud jeering as we make our way, finally reaching a set of grates that grant us a direct view into the courtyard. Hundreds, maybe even thousands have gathered around a large wooden platform built to stand well above the people like a stage. On it stands Sebastian, and behind him tied to large wooden planks are Yori and Julienne.
“Where’s Wade?” I whisper, but Astor shushes me.
His eyes are on Sebastian, who is trying to calm down the crowd after their angered outcry from learning that two rangers had been found hiding in their city. Once they’ve been quieted to some extent, Sebastian continues speaking.
“There’s one more out there,” he says, receiving more hisses and jeers from the masses. “Keep your eyes open. Don’t hesitate to report anything suspicious to the guards.”
Astor turns around away from the action, his face flushed with emotion.
“He’s taunting us,” Astor bemoans.
“It sounds more like he’s trying to use the people to—”
“No,” Astor interrupts, “we’ve been hiding for years without problem. They wouldn’t be able to find us, with or without help. It would take an army weeks to search every crevice, unless they knew just where to look, and they don’t.”
“How did they get to us so quickly then?”
“We were being followed after I found you. I knew, but I figured it’d be best not to make you panic. I just didn’t expect my mother would let them in like she did.”
“Which is why you were upset,” I say.
He doesn’t reply, but instead glances back out at the square. Sebastian is gone, which worries me, but it doesn’t seem to trouble Astor.
“They won’t kill them,” he says after a moment of thought. “It’s a trap. Sebastian is dangling them in front of us like bait, just hoping that we will be foolish enough to come out. Now. Tomorrow. Someday. My mother and Yori will be safe as long as we are. That’s the only way we can protect them.”
His words are surprisingly hopeful as he speaks them, though I don’t know how we’re going to make this work without Julienne. She did say that there were others, but the prospect of evading the soldiers and getting to them seems daunting.
“Your mother said there are others like her,” I encourage.
Astor nods.
“But not in Vanguard. We were the only two who elected to stay here instead of fleeing to other safer cities. Being close to Sebastian allowed us to keep an open eye and help some of the others stay underground. At least those who wanted help.”
He trails off, and I don’t respond. My mind wanders to Wade and what I imagine he must have done to stay alive. He definitely wouldn’t have been someone to accept help, choosing to survive on his own, though he apparently did in desperation appeal to Anastasia for aid at some point.
“Maybe we could find Wade,” I suggest.
